Recognized

"It's the poison of a Human-Faced Demon Spider." Dugu Yan was slightly surprised. Given her knowledge of toxins, she could naturally identify the poison these people had been struck with.

The Human-Faced Demon Spider was already a rare spirit beast, to say nothing of the External Spirit Bone it could produce.

"Let's go." Dugu Qingxi led Dugu Yan to the betting area, collected her winnings, and headed toward the next arena.

"Master, have you been staying in Soto City lately?" Dugu Yan asked, unable to help herself as she watched how familiar Qingxi seemed with the Grand Arena.

"Hmm, speaking of which, I just remembered something." Qingxi stopped in her tracks, pulled out the token Xue Qinghe had given her, and waved it in front of Dugu Yan. "Do you know the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire?"

"You mean Brother Xue?" Dugu Yan looked at the token in Qingxi's hand and reached into her own pocket to pull out an identical one. "This is a pass for the imperial palace. Don't worry, Brother Xue is a good person."

"Mm." Qingxi nodded, tucked the token away, and followed the crowd toward the exit.

The Soto City Grand Arena operated from 5:00 PM to midnight. The team battles were the grand finale, and by the time they ended, it was nearly closing time.

"Yanzi! Yanzi!"

As the two stepped out of the Grand Arena, they heard someone calling Dugu Yan's nickname. Following the sound, they saw several young men and women dressed in luxurious clothing, among whom was Ye Lingling, whom Qingxi had met before.

"Come on, let's go meet them." Dugu Yan led Qingxi over to the group.

"Yanzi!" Seeing Dugu Yan, Yu Feng happily lunged toward her, but she dodged to the side. He lost his footing and sprawled onto the ground, his handsome face instantly covered in dust.

"Pfft." A black-haired youth nearby laughed in schadenfreude.

"Yanzi~" Yu Feng wiped at his eyes, feigning heartbreak. "You've really grown distant, boo-hoo-hoo..."

Ye Lingling and Qingxi exchanged a glance and nodded politely.

"Get up!" Dugu Yan stood with her hands on her hips and kicked the clown. "There are people here, can you be serious for once?"

Yu Feng stopped his wailing and only then noticed the delicate, doll-like girl standing behind her, who was watching him with curiosity.

Oh heavens! My face! It's ruined!

Yu Feng exclaimed inwardly, scrambling to his feet to wipe the dust from his face, quickly resuming the appearance of a refined young nobleman.

"Ahem, what just happened?" Yu Feng coughed lightly, acting as if nothing had occurred.

"Pfft." The Shi Brothers and Oslo burst out laughing.

Yu Tianheng shot Yu Feng a warning glance. "Be serious. Don't embarrass yourself in public."

Yu Feng pouted, preparing to cry again.

"Alright, that's enough." At the sound of a gentle male voice, the group immediately quieted down.

It was a middle-aged man, appearing to be in his early thirties. He was handsome, with a build that was neither too heavy nor too thin. Based on his appearance alone, he seemed like a very gentle person.

Qin Ming stood behind the group, his gaze landing on Qingxi with a look of inquiry. "And you are?"

Black hair, black eyes, eleven or twelve years old.

This appearance reminded Qin Ming of the person Elder Meng had mentioned—the child who, in the Elder's words, was even more talented than Yanzi.

It was a pity that before Qin Ming could meet her, the child had vanished.

Yanzi had explained that she had been taken away by her grandfather, and since it was a Title Douluo who had taken her, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy naturally dared not say anything.

He just hadn't expected to see her here.

Qingxi nodded. Judging by the man's appearance and demeanor, he seemed to be someone special among this group.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is my younger sister, Dugu Qingxi." Dugu Yan pulled Qingxi close and introduced her to the group.

"This is our team instructor, Qin Ming. This is the captain of the Heaven Dou Team, Yu Tianheng. And this is..."

When mentioning Qin Ming, Dugu Yan leaned into Qingxi's ear and whispered, "He's the most outstanding teacher at the Heaven Dou Academy and was the one originally assigned to be your instructor. He broke through to the Spirit Emperor realm at thirty. He's very impressive."

Of course, Dugu Yan believed that when she reached thirty, she would be even more impressive than Instructor Qin.

"So you're the little sister Yanzi is always talking about!" Oslo exclaimed, leaning on Yu Feng's shoulder to get a better look at Qingxi.

He wanted to see what was so special about the person who could make even Yanzi sing such high praises.

"Instructor Qin." Qingxi placed a hand over her chest and bowed to him.

"You are quite remarkable. To have reached the thirtieth level of spirit power at such a young age—have you found a suitable spirit ring?" Qin Ming was slightly surprised, not expecting the child to be so humble.

"I have already found one. Thank you for your concern." Qingxi's eyes flickered as she chose to lie.

"This girl doesn't look like Yanzi at all," Yu Feng whispered to Oslo.

To be precise, she didn't look like anyone from the Dugu family.

"It's getting late. Let's head back to our lodging. Why don't you come with us, little sister?" Yu Tianheng said in a deep voice.

"Come with us!" Dugu Yan looked at Qingxi with sparkling eyes.

The latter shook her head. "No, I have a place to stay."

She was used to being on her own and feared she wouldn't be comfortable with such a large group.

Seeing the determination on her face, Qin Ming knew the child had a mind of her own and did not press the matter. He instructed, "In that case, Yanzi, you escort your sister home first, then come find us."

"I'll go too," Yu Tianheng added at the right moment.

Qin Ming's gaze lingered on Yu Tianheng for a moment; knowing his feelings for Dugu Yan, he nodded in agreement.

"Teacher, I can handle it alone," Dugu Yan refused.

Qin Ming smiled. "Let's go together; there's safety in numbers."

Dugu Yan glanced at Yu Tianheng, snorted coldly, and pulled Qingxi away.

The three of them remained silent along the way, especially between Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan. Intuition told Qingxi that something was going on between them.

Upon reaching the hotel, Yu Tianheng stood downstairs and did not go up.

Dugu Yan escorted Qingxi to her door. "Master, I'll come find you tomorrow."

She hadn't seen her master in a long time and was eager to spend some time together.

Qingxi hurriedly refused. "Better not. I'm also competing in the Soul Fighting Arena lately; I'll come find you when I'm finished."

Dugu Yan nodded, not pressing the matter further.

After all, they were both at the Soto City Grand Arena; they were bound to run into each other eventually.

"Alright then, I'm off." Dugu Yan waved and headed downstairs.

Qingxi stood by the window, watching the two leave one after the other.

She took out the copper coins she hadn't used in a long time and cast a divination for Dugu Yan.

One reading failed, then another.

After a long while, Qingxi put the coins away. Watching their distant figures under the lamplight, a complex expression appeared on her face.

The star of romance had stirred, but the timing was all wrong.

The next day, Qingxi first went to the Central Soul Fighting Arena to watch Dugu Yan's match before returning to the Branch Soul Fighting Arena to prepare for her own warm-up.

Then, she was blocked by four people.

Looking at the familiar faces, Qingxi furrowed her brows.

Wasn't that middle-aged man with the well-developed limbs Zhao Wuji, the one whose face she and Yanzi had beaten into a pulp?

And that boy who was only 1.4 meters tall—wasn't he that Blue Silver Grass soul master?

To her surprise, the so-called "Grandmaster" was actually with them.

Qingxi sneered inwardly. Truly, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones will be too.

"Qiankun Mingxin!" Flender crossed his arms, looking down at her.

"You've mistaken me for someone else." Qingxi turned to walk around them.

What she found strange was that she wasn't wearing a mask right now; how did these people recognize her?

"Stop." Tang San blocked Qingxi's path, a flicker of surprise in his eyes as they landed on her face.

They had been staking out the arena for days looking for Qiankun Mingxin, and this person had walked past them so many times—she was actually the Qiankun they were looking for?!

Moreover, if Tang San remembered correctly, he had seen this girl at a hotel near the Star Dou Great Forest a few months ago.

"You are who you are! What? You have the guts to bully people, but no guts to admit it?" Zhao Wuji stepped forward, hands on his hips.

Although he was the shortest of the three, he was the most muscular. Standing there like a small mountain, he was full of intimidation.

"Who did I bully? And you've mistaken me for someone else; I really am not this 'Qiankun' person." Qingxi offered a polite smile.

"Stop pretending. I saw your registration information when I went to place a bet earlier," Flender said smugly.

As for how he recognized her, it was naturally thanks to Flender's greed for money. He went to bet on the Shrek Team every night and was making a fortune.

It just so happened that last night, he saw this person betting tens of thousands of Gold Soul Coins on the Shrek Team, and out of curiosity, he took a peek at the registration information the staff gave her.

It was none other than Qiankun Mingxin.

Qingxi dropped her smile, her cold gaze landing on the group. "So, you're here to take revenge for that fat pig?"

This was no longer fun.